The Influence of Visual Media on Literacy and the Literary Experience
By Linea Harris, Jonathan Holden, Daniel Dalton, and Desiree Martinez, with interview material by Chris Benavides So much research has been conducted concerning the effect that visual media in its electrical/electronic form has on literacy, and it is no wonder why. With the prevalence of such visual media today, terms such as "information highway" and "cloud" are used to describe the inordinate amount of information that is shared online and through other means. In the face of such a mass of visual imagery as a source of knowledge, the question arises, "Where does textual media find its place in our society today?" To understand this and the potential problems that have been discussed among researchers, we will explore the uses of visual media imagery, how such visual media relates and either supplements or interferes with textual media, and discuss with a university expert the issues concerning the interaction of visual and textual media. First, however, let us define what forms visual media can take and what it means for a viewing society. Contemporary Visual Media Visual media comes in various forms. There are films, also called movies or motion pictures, in which stories are conveyed with moving images. Films are produced by recording frames of photo images with cameras. Films are made up of a series of individual frames, images that are flashed in rapid sequence giving the viewer the illusion that motion is occurring on the screen. Live action is filmed using either scripts or in documentaries using cameras to capture the scene and the movements and dialogue of the actors, and can even include animation techniques or visual effects to enhance scenes. Animation is a product of the effect that frame rate has on the human eye, allowing still images to be stitched together to form a smooth illusion of motion on the screen. Film-making has been developed into art forms and several industry niches and classes of film. A source of popular entertainment, film can be a powerful means of providing education, yet has been used effectively as propaganda, as well. With the advent of the television (TV), broadcast media has grown in influence in the advertising and news industries. Films have been rebroadcast on TV to wider audiences than they were received in the cinema. News broadcasts provide "to-the-minute" coverage of local, national, and international interests to millions of viewers. Serial programming draws in rapt audiences to follow a weekly storyline of about an hour in length. Public television programming often provides what the viewing community considers quality programming that include nature shows, documentaries, children’s education, financial news, and more. Many international films and broadcasts have been edited with translations of the characters’/narrator’s script, allowing for an even broader international audience to understand the presentation filmed in a language that is not native to the land it is being shown in. In most cases, though, broadcast media has little to offer in the way of a literary experience. Dr. Neil Postman, in his 1985 book about television, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, stated that, “on television, discourse is conducted largely through visual imagery, which is to say that television gives us a conversation in images, not words” (7). Video games have increasingly become popular among children and young adults as a way to fill free time or spend time with friends. Not limited to the coin-operated machine any longer, home computers and home video game platforms allow game enthusiasts to play longer in the comfort of their own home and even pit themselves via the internet against other opponents regardless of where they are in the world. As computer and cell technology advances, the ability to supply visual media across a wider range of display platforms (such as cell phones, laptop computers, etc.) has made broadcast media one of the most popular means of entertainment to date. The power of visual media technology has encouraged public educators to adopt it as a medium in which to provide improved educational standards. Volume 3 of the Handbook of Reading Research suggests that engaging students in actual literary activities, such as using computers for reading and writing activities, has been very effective in teaching literacy (Kamil, Intrator, and Kim 774–776). Today’s printed material, such as newspapers and research journals, considered by some to hold high standards in factual reporting, are losing ground to video reporting, web log reporting (or blogging), and publicly edited information sites (e.g. wikis). In light of this, let us first consider the importance of the practice of writing as it pertains to the communication of information in our society. "Writing as a Practice" In “Writing as a Practice”, by Natalie Goldberg, her advice advocates both traditional literacy and literacy in the form of visual media. “Writing as a Practice” highlights the importance that is captured in the title—practice. Goldberg’s piece, though mainly targeting traditional literacy in writing, is a strong argument for the need of writing in general, and a boost to one’s own literacy confidence in the writing process. People may claim that they do not write well—or do not like to write—when, in fact, there may be another problem involved. It may just be that the individual has not had enough experience to become comfortable with writing. Goldberg equates the writing practice with running, even when the writer is inexperienced. The writer may also be "out of shape" and have the strong inclination to quit writing. However, if the writer forges on anyway, before long, that person is writing a "literary marathon." Just as a runner cannot successfully run a full marathon without training and prior running experience, and would fall out of the race early, Goldberg says, “That’s how writing is, too. Once you’re deep into it, you wonder what took you so long to finally settle down at the desk” (72). With practice comes skill, and with skill comes confidence. Goldberg gives great advice in not being confounded by restrictions. She explains that, when she writes, she does not use margins. Instead, she starts at the top of a notebook and works her way left to right, top to bottom. She realizes that, when she is writing, she is not writing for herself and becomes amazed at the output she produces. A key aspect that Goldberg mentions in writing and practicing writing is that “writing practice is to learn to trust your own mind and body, to grow patient and non-aggressive. Art lives in the big world” (72). With practice, the comfort level rises and one learns how to trust in one's self. It is easy to see how practicing in writing can help a writer's literacy in regards to the skill of writing and the writer's comfort level. In advocating for more writing, however, visual imagery can easily find its place in among reading and writing. Traditional literacy is infused in the very essence of what visual media encompasses. As visual images are used more and more, it is only the definition of literacy that is changed. Goldberg's “Writing as a Practice” can easily be used to instruct in the practice of using visual imagery to process knowledge and thought. For instance, when a PowerPoint© presentation is made, the author uses literacy in detail to provide visual means of communication to convey a subject or idea to the audience. Creating a YouTube© video involves much of the same format and structure in regards to planning of the sequence of concepts to be visually displayed. In encompassing pictures and arranging thoughts and ideas, there is work that happens "behind-the-scenes" that, because of traditional literacy, is able to present a new form of literary expression with less effort to a much wider target audience. As people practice their own skills using different forms of electronic media to communicate, literacy is enhanced in others concerning the material they are viewing. Literacy has been defined as “the ability to make and communicate meaning from and by the use of a variety of socially contextual symbols” (Dubin 1). Likewise, visual media—as a newer form of literacy—can also be beneficial to the literary experience. In practicing the use (or even developing different forms) of visual media, the author's confidence rises and contributes to the appreciation of the form. Producers of visual media and writers of traditional literacy can both benefit from the useful advice in “Writing as a Practice”. Goldberg encourages the "knocking down" of bias and fears, giving encouragement and advice. There is also a major heed of warning given concerning regular practice. Perfection is not easily acquired, and may never come. However, though there may be times when reading or writing seem daunting, with practice results will come, no matter the form of communication. The results of diligence are the skills to deal with such problems that may arise when an individual is hindered in society through the lack of textual expression. To better understand the issues concerning these problems, let us take a look at the danger that illiteracy poses in general and how visual media can influence for the benefit or detriment of the literary experience. The Problem of Illiteracy June Callwood was a journalist with both experience in textual publishing and in television broadcasting, and able to explain how important literacy is and the harmful effects of illiteracy. Callwood's credits include publishing both as a ghostwriter and under her own name, as well as hosting a television program for CBC, called In Touch and co-hosting the Caregiving series. Callwood is therefore well acquainted with the issues involving the benefits of visual media, but also has written concerning the problems of illiteracy. In "Why Canada Has to Beat its Literacy Problem," she begins by describing a life-threatening situation brought on by the inability to read. Although the issue is reported as it relates to Canadian society, illiteracy affects many cultures worldwide. Such effects are harmful to the mind and body, exposing the illiterate person to dangerous, challenging, and frustrating situations in their lives where being able to read and write can make a difference between hardship and success. Callwood demonstrates the need of reading and writing using the example of Carole Boudrias’ struggle to live a normal life. As a child, Boudrias was labeled “retarded” as a result of her illiteracy. Boudrias was placed in so-called "opportunity classes" which, ironically enough, did not offer reading instruction. It is reasonable to believe that, if a child is unable to read, an effort would be made to focus on that aspect of instruction to improve the student's ability. However, due to the structure of education in Canada at the time, such classes were not provided. It is possible that such instruction was considered too tedious and time consuming to be within the education system's budget. Dealing with illiteracy throughout her childhood and well into her adult years, Boudrias recalls that she felt "like being in prison" (Callwood 48). The mobility of an illiterate person is limited because of the inability to read directional signs. Shopping is difficult because, "you don't know what's in most of the packages" (48). Saving money becomes an issue when a person cannot read what bargains there are on items. Boudrias described being unable to get a job or even a bank account, and that she had to depend on other people. As a mother, she found it distressing that her illiteracy resulted in not being able to help herself or her children. Callwood discusses further that there are people who are functionally illiterate, and can "recognize a few words…, but can't read dense print at all" (49) She explains that these individuals cannot "decipher directions…, or application forms, or warning labels. The world of newspapers, posters, advertising, books, menus, recipes, and instructions for assembly that literate people take for granted is barred to them" (48). In a society that has increased its reliance on textual media to keep records, such individuals find themselves out of place. With more and more visual communication becoming prevalent, however, the problem of illiteracy has the potential of becoming an underreported issue. Many public television broadcasting programs include visual imagery as a supplement and aid to educational programs that teach adults and children alike to read. Such use of visual media may even be able to enhance learning in developing readers. Remarking about the effect that visual media can have in supplementing literacy in education, Janet Angelis discusses how visual media can even improve the ability to understand underlying concepts that are found in textual media. In her publication, "Validity and Value of Research on Reading Beyond the Early Years—What Parents Need to Know," she states: : The modern American family most likely interacts around non-print literary works most if not all of the time—TV programs and movies offer the prime examples. Such explorations, even if not directly "reading," help developing readers understand that interpretations vary and change, and help them develop strategies for interpreting a text in whatever form they encounter it. (12) Many feel that the fact that Boudrias never gave up on learning to read is very inspirational. Indeed, the problem of illiteracy is something that many are striving to overcome, because one must learn how to read and write in order to succeed in a textually-based society. That visual imagery can assist in improving literacy shows the power that it can have to help resolve this issue. However, what other power does the medium of imagery have? For the answer to that, let us consider the following interview. An Interview with Dr. Mark Wildermuth Mark Wildermuth is a professor at the University of Texas in the Permian Basin who believes that when people read a book, they make a movie of it in their mind. In this way, he suggests, the literary work becomes personal to them. Consequently, different people respond differently to films. For some, they become excited about the book a film was taken from because they want to know the rest of the story. In Wildermuth’s words: : I think people go through periods in their life where they get out of touch with literature. But it’s amazing how something as simple as, say, the Twilight phenomena or Harry Potter can actually stimulate people to read and make them go back to novels. Visual media, in Wildermuth’s eyes, has also affected the quality of newspapers and magazines, simplifying many of these periodicals to the point that they are written in about a fifth-grade reading level. Writing in general, to Wildermuth, has also become more simplified. He explains that the syntax of older novels is mostly good and certainly better than the simplified novels of today and that, although newspapers used to be a primary source of daily information, such is not the case today. Visual media has proven its advantages, as well, according to Wildermuth’s own teaching experience, as he himself has seen and attested to. His experience is that visuals have helped in describing intricate details that would have been more difficult to explain in simpler terms. Therefore, he has gone so far as to use visual aids to enhance his own teaching process. He believes that when people see something for themselves, such as a replica or a picture of something, it can count for many words and explanations. He asks, “What’s the difference between a movie and a book? More often than not, what they say is that there is greater freedom with the book." He continues to explain that readers can make a book almost whatever they want it to be by imagining the details of characters and scenes while, in a movie, these roles are already filled out. "It’s interesting," he says, "because that strikes me as changing the style of reading. It’s making it into a more visual experience. It’s really different, I think, from what people did, say, 200 to 300 years ago." Wildermuth also believes that a written work is not seen as much of a possession as it used to be; it is like air in a world of cutting-edge technology and the internet and that everything visual is highly reproducible, potentially leading to plagiarism. "Disembodied" information usually will become troublesome, he warns, with the tendency to portray authority figures with suspicion, ready to pounce on powerful individuals if they make the least semblance of a mistake. Such a destructive stance, he explains, has led authors of such reports to give in to in the spirit of sensationalism before learning if the story that they were reporting on was true or not. Another aspect in which media may have influenced our textual-based culture was brought up by Wildermuth concerning the speed with which people used to read long ago compared to the reading habits of today. "I’m always fascinated," he says, "when I’m reading the book reviews from, say, a hundred years ago or more. The book reviewer for the novel, Dracula, for example… said he started reading the book right after dinner and finished it before midnight." Although hard for anyone in our day to imagine reading through a five-hundred-page novel in just a few hours, he states that the claim was not an isolated one. Wildermuth suspects that readers in that time period were "processing print differently" from today's "cinematic culture." He continues, stating that the reviewer "came from a print culture which was pre-cinematic. And it lends credence to the idea that—the radical idea in media studies—which is that media can have an impact on the way the mind works. That it can even have an impact on the hard-wiring of the mind." When asked how he felt about the statement that television and the film industry has changed the way the public approaches literacy, and if he felt that society views literacy differently when movies or TV shows are based off of books, Wildermuth responded: : If you look at Plato’s dialogue in Flavius (which features Socrates in the story), Socrates worries that young people are relying too much on the written word and that their oral memories are beginning to fade. Likewise, print has an impact on people and… visuals have an impact on people. Leonard Schley argues in the book, The Alphabet vs. the Goddess, that what happens when you move from print culture to film culture is that you’re literally stimulating different sides of the brain. Print and written words stimulate left-hand side of the brain, and stimulate processes that feature logic and analysis; and film stimulates the right-hand which is more of the creative and visual side of the mind. It’s a hot topic. No two people, probably, in media studies agree on exactly what’s going on there, but one rather suspects that, yes, the answer to your question is indeed it has an impact, and may have a greater impact than we can fully appreciate. Visual media will continue to affect future generations as it continues to evolve and have greater impact. Although there are many good aspects to visual imagery, it will still need to be kept accountable. A "good thing" can cause harm when not balanced or when used out of proper context. Visual media and literacy cannot take each other’s place in the world, for each have their respective roles. Additionally, both visual and textual media have done well for society in providing entertainment and knowledge. Respectively, neither medium can provide the same experience, though brilliant minds are researching radical improvements in technology daily to do so. The fact is that people still receive many pleasurable hours reading literature. When people read, it becomes personal to them. Wildermuth reminded that "readers convert it text into a movie in their mind. That they literally see it in terms of cuts, editing, and color; they cast people in roles and things like that." Literature also has the added advantage of being easier on the eyes, and the pleasure obtained from books is not going to vanish anytime soon because it is unique. Many that think of visual imagery as a form of communication are surprised to find out that it is not as unique to our time period as they initially thought. Let us look at the growth of literacy that developed from its beginnings in visual imagery. The Benefits of Visual Media in Relation to Literacy Many interpret the meaning of literacy to the limits of reading and writing printed text. On the contrary, literacy includes not only reading and writing, but any medium of visual imagery used as a form of communication. Visual media communication can be traced as far back as Egyptian hieroglyphics used as a means for recording history. Children learn to infer what a book may be about, or what a passage of text may concern, by using the pictures that accompany the associated print. Today’s kindergarten classes use this form of visual media to help children learn how to read literature. An example of this would include looking at a picture of a chair, and having the word chair underneath it. This helps the child associate that word with the object shown. This type of learning in literacy is also used and developed throughout high school and college, with the incorporation of pictures or maps in books to accompany the printed subject matter in order to give better descriptions of what the texts are speaking about. With the advancement of technology and the internet, a new form of visual literacy is forming with the incorporation of visual imagery, an example being YouTube©. Many professors are now even including video presentations to enhance their lectures and to help give their students a better understanding on the issues that they may be discussing. They are expanding their teaching skills to be able to reach those that learn by different methods (visually) in addition to the traditional reading, writing and audio lecture. Visual media represents a contemporary avenue in the way people are learning today in comparison to traditional literacy experiences. According to Pew Research Center for the People and the Press website, on a typical day in July 2006, 17% more Americans got their news from watching television as opposed to reading the newspaper (Pew 1-3). This can be supported by figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation—which runs circulation audits on a quarterly basis—that show, on average, that Monday-to-Sunday circulation of national, metropolitan and regional newspapers fell by 3.1% compared to the same quarter in 2009 (Washbrook par. 2). Over the past twenty years alone, technology has advanced to great lengths in the displaying of visual imagery with the addition of the internet and cable television. The twentieth century showed a rapid progression of growth in technology, especially towards the end of the century. One can only assume by this advancement that our progress will continue at this pace, if not more. Visual imagery has also enabled the ability to reach a greater and wider audience compared to modes of communication that rely solely on what can be read via distributed publishing. There have been films that have been seen by millions of people. The issues the material in those films raises (racism, homophobia, abortion, abuse of power by government and media, etc.) have been discussed in-depth in mainstream media. However, books in general do not often make impacts in popular culture unless well-known celebrities endorse them. Even then, the reach would not often compare to a film's influence. Even with the Twilight and Harry Potter "phenomenon," more people will see the movies than read the books. Conversely, the "phenomenon" has influenced many who have seen a film to go out and read the novels they were based on. The advancements of visual media have opened up a world to those who would otherwise have been oblivious to the talents of those authors. With the trends of print media declining, and social, visual technology increasing, why not influence where the generation is leading it to, to reach those with information that was once only available in print? In a recent poll concerning political interest, it was found that “a clear majority of Americans—59%—plan on getting most of their political information from their television sets this year. The breakdown of the 59% is 37% cable, 22% broadcast. The internet is second with 21%. Newspaper and radio sic trailed, with neither able to break into double digits, pulled responses of 9% and 7% respectively” (Radio and Television Business Report, par. 1). The famous quote from Fred Barnyard states succinctly how imagery enhances the delivery of a message: “a picture is worth a thousand words.” When people can see things rather than merely hear them or read about them, they remember more. Visual imagery can be especially helpful to low income groups with limited reading ability; ethnic groups who speak little English are estimated as using their different senses together to learn 10% from reading, 20% from listening, and 80% from viewing. Recalling information two weeks later, people remember 20% of what they hear, but with 50% of what is both seen and heard, and 90% of what they say and do. Visuals enhance written and oral communication methods and make them more interesting (Skinner 6-10). This can easily apply to any instructional activity from cooking to building something. Watching to see how something is done or accomplished helps to give the viewer a better sense of understanding, and know in what order to do the task with reassurance. According to a report published by the Regional Office of Education #11 in Charleston, IL, “It is estimated that approximately 65% of the population are visual learners… in information with their eyes… that they learn by reading or observing” (ROE 3). The mind can also be opened up to new forms of learning through visual imagery. In What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, James Gee tells of his own personal experiences in learning how to play a game. He said that it challenged him to “think in ways in which I am not adept” (Gee 5). Gee found that this was a new form of learning for him. He could no longer look at this with his own personal experience and draw conclusions to solve the game, but had to learn new ways to figure out how to master the game he was playing. Gee states, “Oddly enough, then, confronting was, for me, a new form of learning and thinking that was both frustrating and life enhancing” (5). Gee further goes on in his book advocating the importance of visual media in the advancement of literacy through video games, enhancing and teaching problem solving skills to even “forming bridges to form one’s old identities to the new one” (52). He goes on to support this in how this type of learning helps us (or children in this case) to be willing to empathize with others to gain new perspectives—all the while, using current knowledge and forming (from the knowledge gained) a new identity to help shape active and critical thinking. It is easy to see the advantages that Visual Media can influence in our literacy and our literary experiences. As our culture and technology progresses, so should our definitions and means of learning as it only enhances our own species. Through the use of teaching models, video games, the news, and internet, visual imagery has expanded literacy to a greater influence of people as a whole. To have information so readily and easily available has helped to progress our knowledge base, and visual media as a form of literacy has greatly aided in that. However, what of the detriments that visual imagery can have on literacy? In our next section, we will explore the negative influence that an unbalanced application of visual imagery can have on the literary experience. Negative Effects of Visual Media For many years, our world has used textual literacy to educate people but, as the years pass and technology improves, we have come to rely progressively more on visual imagery for our sources of information. Reading print used to be a main part of life, but the more we advance in technology, the more we seem to separate ourselves from printed publications. So it follows that we lean more and more through visual media input, such as television, video games, films, and visual computer content. Visual media provides society with the ability to communicate knowledge through images and, yet, that very imagery has been a main source of distraction for many people. Too much exposure to visual imagery can lead to apathy towards textual literacy. A lack of reading and writing can lead to a lack of productive communication in society and a lack of knowledge. “A book doesn’t really exist until it is read, looked at, and thought about. How each reader makes a book come to life is unique. That’s why books are so special” (Haley). One aspect of visual media is the chance of children having a decreased attention span (according to one cross-sectional research). The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) stated that children and young adults ranging from 8 to 18 years in age may spend nearly 4 hours a day watching television and that an additional 2 hours is spent either playing video games or on a computer. Children under the age of 6 may watch an average of 2 hours of broadcast programming in a day. Early television viewing, in children aged 1 to 3, can lead to a poor attention span by the age of 7 in children thus exposed. Television viewing has been tied to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and other behavioral problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents do not let children less than 2 years of age watch television. It has been studied that children learn the most when they are younger. Therefore, if a parent allows their child to watch television at a young age, the child will be influenced by the visual, auditory, and behavioral practices of the programs that they are being exposed to on TV. As families become busier with the pressures of living in today's society, parents are supervising less how their children learn, opting to let the TV "be the babysitter." Such a lack of active participation in the instruction of children can lead to later apathy towards literature when they are older. Koolstra and Van der Voort concluded, from their study of over a thousand Dutch schoolchildren from grades 2 and 4, that the data “suggest that two causal mechanisms underlie television's reductive effect on children's book reading: (a) a television-induced deterioration of attitudes toward book reading, and (b) a television-induced deterioration of children's ability to concentrate on reading” (abstract). The absence of the child’s interaction with the outside world has been found to correlate with obesity. According to William Dietz, in children and teenagers 12 to 17 year of age, a 2% increase in obesity correlated to every hour of television that was viewed by the child on a daily basis. He also stated that children spend as much time at school each year as they do watching television in that same year. Even with the athletic programs in today's school systems, childhood and teenage obesity seem to be growing major concerns as the years pass. This correlates with the increase of imagery viewing and could mean that children exposed to more visual media as they progress through life have greater potential for health risks (Dietz 1, 2). With the advancement of technology increasing each year, the amount of time a child experiences visual media can exponentially increase as a result. A promotion of literature is needed in society today. Literacy leads to innovation, not just advances in entertainment. Our need for reading and writing in order to communicate is a strong one. With the power that visual media has, will society wield it in a balanced way, supporting textual communication and preserving knowledge and innovation? Or will society allow visual media to be used as a power to destroy the bond between knowledge and society? Let us review what we have learned about the power and influence of media, and weigh both the benefits and the harmful effects that it can have on textual-based learning. Conclusions Concerning the Visual Effect The 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama II (in an address to the first joint session of 111th Congress on February 24, 2009), declared that “there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to their child.” Reading is vital to education and, although some claim that text-based learning needs to be replaced by visual methods, textual media is vital to literacy. There is evidence to suggest that reading, and being read to, greatly enhances a child’s mental growth (Gallego 66). Parents are admonished to read aloud to their children at young ages, continuing to do so through their early teens. This gives children the experience of being touched by, transported by, and changed by literature. “Unless they experience the benefit, they will not try it. The rewards of reading are deep and profound. We can discover this most readily on our parents' laps”(Balcarcel). Each parent that invests their time to read to their child, and encourage reading in that child, is affecting a lot more than they will immediately discern. If parents will take time out of their busy schedules to simply read for 15 minutes to 1 hour a day to their children, it will encourage them to read on their own as they grow older. As a result, encouraging reading at a young age has the potential to raise low academic standards and save literacy from being overshadowed by newer visual media. Visual media still is an amazing tool that should be used appropriately. There are documentaries which provide deep insight into the issue of supplementing visual imagery as a teaching aid, using visuals to help guide a learning viewer. There are vivid novels and other literature that have been transferred to film and portray and display stories in a way nothing else has (Gallego 66). However, textual media hold amazing wells of information and cover things in much broader strokes and in more complete ways than movies and videos are able to. Many people watch media because it is the easy way to obtain information. Often times, although some are good sources of information, visual media is unable to portray complete themes as well as books like The Lord of the Rings. “Challenging visual material, such as we find in modern art, is different, and requires the same attention and 'work' as a book might” (Balcarcel). Visual media is becoming extremely popular in society today as a means of entertainment or in keeping in touch with world events, sometimes to the undoing of traditional textual media. However, textual literacy is still vital to any education, and visual media needs traditional literacy to survive. While traditional text-based media is foundational, visual media is a building block used to shore up that foundation or build on top of it. The literary experience is now exposed to technology that, in some circumstances, advances itself. Media in a visual image format is not harmful in itself; it has advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, although it seems to have overshadowed textual media at times, visual media can still be used in a balanced way to enhance and advance the literacy experience. Works Cited * Angelis, Janet. "Validity and Value of Research on Reading Beyond the Early Years—What Parents Need to Know." www.albany.edu. National Research Center on English Learning & Achievement. Albany: U at Albany P, 23 Oct. 2006. 1. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. * Balcarcel, Rebecca. Interview by Daniel Dalton. 22 Mar. 2011. * Callwood, June. "Why Canada Has to Beat Its Literacy Problem." Conversations About Writing: Eavesdropping, Inkshedding, and Joining In. Ed. M. 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